


Love Sick

by Animefangirl1221



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, But there's fluff too!, I think everyone is just a tad bit OOC, Keith is grumpy pants when sick, Lance will help though, M/M, Nurse!Hunk, Pidge is a long term patient, Poor Keith is hacking his lungs out, So much angst, There's only mentions of Shallura, They kinda just wander around the hospital, also neutral pronouns for Pidge, but they act like a live-in fix it person, cause that's what I'm comfortable with, i really suck at tags, just cause I'm not quite used to writing their characters, keith is sick, klance, nurse!lance, oh yeah Keith has mild asthma, poor baby can't stay healthy, sick!keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 20:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8462458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Animefangirl1221/pseuds/Animefangirl1221
Summary: This is the third time this month Keith has come down with some sort of sickness. Usually under Shiro's care he gets better with minimal consequences. But this time a deadly superinfection lands him in the hospital. When he becomes stable and isn't sleeping almost 24/7, Keith meets his nurse Lance. From there their rocky relationship turns into a tolerable friendship then into tooth rotting fluff. ;)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovely little Beeboos! This is the first fanfic I have ever posted on this site so please treat me kindly! This fic was based on a tumblr post I found years ago and I thought it was cute but didn't have the right pairing for it. At least until I got sucked into Voltron: LD and the Klance ship! *feebly cheers and waves arm* But I seriously did hours of research for this fic so that it can be as medically correct as I could get it. There are some things that are more based on theories such as the superinfection.
> 
> A superinfection occurs when a person is sick with both a viral and bacterial illness. At least that's all that I could find on the matter. So for this fic there may be a few fudged details where I couldn't find sufficient data on specific situations.
> 
> Most of Keith's symptoms are on the severe end hence why he was sent to the hospital for treatment.
> 
> Other than that please enjoy this rollercoaster of emotions that I have produced for you. ^w^ Also this fic isn't beta'd so if you find any grammatical errors or things that don't make sense then please comment and tell me. :) A warning as well, this fic will switch POVs quite a bit but will eventually settle on Keith's because that's just my style of writing. I write kind of like how you would watch a movie. I hope that doesn't confuse anyone too badly! ^_^;;;

Keith was sleeping on his couch for the third night in a row and sick as a dog. He had finally tamped down his pride and called Shiro, the call was short and somewhat labored and as soon as it ended Keith fell asleep. Shiro, being the worried big brother he has always been, came back home to take care of Keith. This was the third time that he had come down with some sort of sickness just this month and Shiro was getting worried that there may be something bigger at play. It didn’t help that Keith had mild asthma paired with a weaker immune system that he had inherited from his mom. 

Keith coughed harshly for a moment before cursing softly and rolling over. Shiro came into the room to check on Keith. He hadn’t seen Keith like this their childhood when Keith had contracted a severe strain of the flu. Shiro had set up a doctors appointment for tomorrow. Hopefully they could diagnose what Keith had and what they could do help him on the path to recovery. Shiro sighed and he ran his left hand through Keith’s matted hair. If things got worse Shiro feared that he wouldn’t be able to take care of Keith. Since graduating Garrison, Shiro had moved several cities away and had recently become engaged to Allura Altea. There was only so much that he could do for his little brother at this point in time.

Shiro shook his head so as to clear his thoughts. He knew there was no point with negative thoughts. They would cross that bridge when they get there. Before Shiro left the room he fixed Keith’s blanket and ran his hand through the younger’s hair again. With that Shiro headed back to the bedroom that Keith had abandoned when he had become sick, favoring sleeping on the couch instead of in his bed. He needed his own sleeps much as Keith needed his.

~~~

Keith was not happy at the aspect of being removed from his comfortable nest on the couch to the car for his appointment the next morning. Shiro made him actually get up and take a shower while he made breakfast. Moaning and groaning and basically almost hacking his lungs out the entire time, Keith soon found himself standing in the kitchen dishing himself up as Shiro took his own shower. Plate full of food and tugging at the edges of the blanket he had draped over his shoulders, he almost made into the small table when a small tickle in the back of his throat forced him to cough. This small cough then escalated into a wet harsh sounding coughing fit. Unable to continue holding onto his plate or make it to the table, Keith dropped the plate onto the linoleum floor causing it to shatter on impact and for food to splatter over a small section of the floor. Keith continued to cough harshly for who knows how long. Covering his mouth with his forearm, Keith slumped to the floor unable to keep the balance required to stand. Soon a strong warm hand found his shoulder and Keith knew it was Shiro. His hair was still wet from the shower and was dripping onto Keith’s right side. At least he was wearing pants when he came out to check on Keith.

“Keith? Are you alright?” Shiro asked worriedly, slicking back his hair the best he could with his cyber prosthetic hand.

Keith coughed for a bit longer before being able to pull in a deep breadth to settle the aching cough. “I feel like crap Shiro. What do you think?” Then he caught sight of the pink tinged mucus on his pale arm.

“You’re coughing up blood.” Shiro said breathlessly, even though he knew it wasn’t just purely blood it still shook him. “We’re leaving. Now.”

Before Keith could argue, Shiro became a whirlwind of movement. Tugging on a shirt, socks, and shoes, gabbing his keys from his jacket pocket then going back to help Keith get up and out the door. Keith settled into the passenger seat and let Shiro buckle his seatbelt for him. It felt like everything was on fire yet he was so cold at the same time and shook while sweating profusely. Trying to keep his breathing steady, Keith leaned his head on the window and closed his eyes. Everything was becoming blurry.

Shiro put the back of his left hand on Keith’s forehead, he was burning up and starting to pant. His lips were becoming a tad bit more blue from the lack of oxygen getting to them. “Keith.” He said in a demanding yet worried tone. “Keith you need to stay awake. We don’t know what’s happening so I need you to stay awake until we get to the clinic. Can you do that for me?” Shiro buckled himself in and started the car and pulled out of the apartment complex where Keith lived.

“Yeah.” Keith responded trying to keep his eyes open. “Sure, I can do that Shiro.”

The rest of the ride was foggy and Keith couldn’t remember much of it. Everything was mostly just bits and pieces accompanied by muffled audio. He did remember being pulled out of the car and lead towards the InstaCare clinic. Keith was just so tired and all he wanted to do was go to sleep. Leaning heavily on Shiro, Keith tried to walk but didn’t make it farther than a few steps before Shiro ended up just sweeping him up off of his feet and quickly walking into the clinic. There was a bit of a panic with the way Shiro came in holding him but the clinic staff was at least mostly calm and they were able to get Keith checked in and to the doctor with minimal chaos. Shiro stayed as calm as he could during the whole ordeal but when an ambulance came and the paramedics wheeled and unconscious Keith out on a gurney, he lost it a bit. Tears welled in his eyes as a clinic staff member explained that Keith’s fever was so high that it had begun to give him seizures. They weren’t equipped to help Keith at the clinic so they were sending him to the hospital on the other side of town. She then quickly helped him up into the ambulance and they were off.

~~~

Keith was in and out of a lucid consciousness. He wasn’t quite sure what was going on but when he came to completely, he found himself in a hospital room with a constant beeping off to his right. Vaguely he could hear someone to his left sleeping. He felt much too weak to turn and see who it was but knew it was safe to assume that the sleeping person was Shiro. The window had the binds down and there was a weak light coming through the cracks around said blinds, telling Keith that it was sometime during the predawn hours.

To his right, the door opened and a large Filipino man dressed in sunshine yellow scrubs with little yellow lions on them came through the door. When he saw that Keith was awake he smiled and moved to Keith’s side. “Hey there.” The large man said in a soft tone. “My name’s Hunk. You scared us there for a few hours. Doctor says that you’ve got a severe case of pneumonia, a bacterial strain he said, and before that it looks like you had the beginnings of the flu.” There was a moment of silence as Hunk looked at the machines that Keith was hooked up to then wrote on his clipboard. Hunk breaks the silence and gestures over to Shiro. “He’s been here all night. He said that he wouldn’t go home until you were awake.”

Keith smiles softly towards Shiro. “That doesn’t surprise me one bit.” Keith’s voice was rough and it hurt a bit to use.

Hunk smiled warmly as he finished his notes then turned back to Keith. “You should get some more rest. Your body is still fighting off the infection and over the next few days you’ll have quite a few drugs pumped into you to help with the pneumonia before we let the flu virus run its course.”

Keith nodded and closed his eyes. A few seconds later he heard Hunk open the door and leave, closing it softly behind him. Keith drifted off into a world of dreams and hopes for a quick recovery.

~~~

Over the past few days Keith has spent maybe four hours of that time awake and somewhat alert. Otherwise he was in a lucid state or just flat out sleeping. And over the course of those days someone has popped up in his dreams. Someone that Keith doesn’t recognize. Slowly Keith is pulled off the several different medications that his doctor has him on. Slowly he begins to stay awake more and more everyday. Now that Keith was awake for most of the day he finally met Lance. Lance was as annoying as Frick to Keith and flirtatious to a fault. If put mildly you could said that Keith didn’t quite enjoy the company of Lance. 

“Hi there, name’s Lance. And I’ll be your nurse for your stay here.” Lance said in a swanky tone as he sauntered in wearing the blue version of Hunk’s scrubs. “Doctor says that since you live alone and there’s no family in the immediate area your stay will be longer than most.” He had a more serious tone now. "Two weeks tops, that is if you react well to the treatments and show signs of improvement over the next 36-48 hours."

Keith huffed and nodded. He had been in a bit of a bad mood since Shiro had left yesterday. He knew Shiro wouldn’t be able to stay with him for the entirety of his recovery since he had a life of his own. Not to mention that his and Allura’s wedding was in a few months time and they still had a lot of stuff to plan.

Lance moved over to record Keith's vitals on the clipboard he was carrying. "Hey Mr. Grumpy Pants," Lance said glancing up over his writings at Keith. "it's not so bad here. Well, at least Pidge doesn't mind it."

Keith looked up from glaring at his lap and stared at Lance. "Who the heck is Pidge?"

"Mmm, Pidge is a long term patient here. I think it's an extremely rare genetic mutation that makes it hard for them to survive outside of a mostly sterile environment. No one is entirely certain about it hence why they're here to begin with but they're great company. Very handy with machines, I guess that's what happens when you're cooped up in a hospital for most of your life." Lance seems to have finished his recordings and moves to leave. Before he leaves he turns back to Keith. "If there's anything you need just ask me and I'll see what I can do." Lance winks at Keith and a blush erupts over Keith's face.

"I-if you could get me a few more pillows that would be nice." Keith mumbles, casting his eyes to the opposite side of the room and fixing on the leg of the couch Shiro had slept on for three nights before he had to leave.

"I think I can arrange that." Keith can almost hear the smirk in Lance's voice, he most likely noticed the blush and was going to hold this over Keith as long as he possibly could.

Keith let out a breadth when he heard the door softly click closed. He didn't like it when Lance came in to check on him. It always made feelings bubble up in his chest that he couldn't tamp down no matter how much he wanted them to go away. Keith rolled onto his side and pulled out his phone. At the moment he was really glad that he was permitted to change into his own comfy clothes instead of the trashy blue green gown he was in when he was first admitted. Keith absentmindedly scrolled through his Facebook feed then switched over to his Instagram. He took a picture of the window and its partially closed blinds. Typing about how tired of being the hospital he was and just wanted to just go home. Then he posted it and continued to scroll through some tags. A few minutes later Shiro commented saying to hang in there. Allura commented saying that she wished him the best and hoped that he would get better soon.

A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth at the support those two gave him. Keith then turned off his phone and closed his eyes. He hoped to could grab a few more hours of sleep before Lance came back to take his vitals again and remind him about dinner.

~~~

When Keith awoke he found a stack of six pillows at the foot of his bed and a stranger sitting on the couch in his room and tinkering with a machine of sorts. Startled, Keith shot up into a sitting position which was not a good idea seeing as it sent him into a horrid coughing fit. When he was finally able to get the fit under control the other person spoke.

"Sup, I'm Pidge." They said in a relaxed tone then glanced up to actually look at Keith before returning to tinker with the pile of metal and wires in their lap. "I've heard about you from Lance and I decided to meet you myself."

Keith coughed again before speaking. "Yeah," His voice was a tad bit rough from coughing so much and so hard. "he told me about you too."

"I'm guessing he told you I have a genetic mutation right?" Keith nodded and Pidge looked up before they continued. "Nah, my immune system is just really high functioning and it caused my cancer to go into submission by itself. I actually have three inactive, essentially dead, tumors in my chest. They're not that big, maybe the size of a grape. I think the largest is walnut sized." Clearly having three tumors, dead or otherwise, in their body wasn't the least bit scary from the bored tone Pidge used. "They don't know if they can remove them without damaging some pretty important stuff so they keep me here for observation and research purposes." They just shrug at the end and turn their attention to the machine in their lap. 

Keith wasn't sure of what to say. Pidge's life story sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. "That...sounds hard. I guess." Keith's eyebrows knit together.

"It's fine. So what about you? What are you in here for?" Pidge questions glancing up from their project.

"Hunk said it was a severe case of bacterial pneumonia and this years flu virus." Keith stated trying to remember just what Hunk had said in those early morning hours. "Lance said that I could go home in two weeks."

"That is what I said." Lance said from the doorway. "Hey, did you want dinner brought up to you again or are you feeling up to going to the cafeteria?" Lance asks as he takes Keith's vitals again.

"I think I'll just stay in my room." Keith muttered.

"Alright, but at one point I'll get you out of that bed and walking to the cafeteria if it's the last thing I do while you're here." Lance sighs, sounding exasperated before he turns his attention to Pidge. "And you," he points a finger at the mechanic sitting on the couch. "you know you're not supposed to just waltz into another patient's room without asking. Now out with you!" Lance says in a mocking voice before he cracks a smile.

Pidge smiles and cleans up their stuff before nearly skipping out the door but not before waving a goodbye to Keith, who returned the gesture. Lance shook his head then turned back to Keith.

"Dinner will be up soon. I'll be back at nine. Until then my lovely patient." Lance winked at Keith as he sashayed out the door and closed it with a soft click.

Keith groaned. Heaven help him, how in the world was he supposed to handle Lance? Keith threw his right arm over his face, covering his eyes. He stayed there for a bit before he got up and grabbed the pillows that Lance had brought him earlier. Keith then made himself a lovely little nest that reminded him of the ones he made when he was at home. As he settled in, sleep overcame him quickly and he slept soundly.

When Lance came back at nine that night, Keith felt that the fever had come back. At least it wasn't as high this time but it was uncomfortable nonetheless. A light sheen of sweat covered Keith's body from both the heat of his fever and the body heat the pillows kept trapped in. Curled up on his right side he pulled the blanket tighter around himself.

"Keith if you're under there I need you to emerge so I can take your vitals." Lance said, his voice sounded muffled from under the mountain of pillows Keith had buried himself under.

"Fight me." Keith muttered just loud enough for Lance to hear him under all of the fluff.

Keith heard Lance chuckle a bit before the pillows started disappearing. "Maybe next time."

Keith whimpered a bit when the last of the pillows were pulled from his curled up figure. He felt a cool hand press to his forehead and he leaned into it. A device was stuck into his left armpit and a few seconds later a chirping beep sounded. The device was then pulled away from his skin. A low hum could be heard from Lance.

"It looks like your fever's come back but it's a far cry from the 107 temp you came in with. It must be from too much stress on your body from fighting off two illnesses. I'll report this and have the doctor come see you. Other than that, you just need to get more sleep and more fluids in you." Lance then begins to place the pillows back into place to the best of his ability. "I'll bring up a jug of water for you to sip on. Until then sleep tight." 

Keith hums and cracks an eye open just as Lance is closing the door. When he's gone Keith closes his eyes again and falls back asleep.

When morning comes it seems that Keith's fever has broken but his doctor comes in to check anyway. He checks on Keith's progress and says that optimally they'll try to get Keith out of the hospital within the next three or so days.

Keith is glad that he can go home soon but there's a pang in his stomach when he realizes that he won't be able to see Lance on a daily basis. In the end Keith buried himself back in his pillows and blankets to sleep.

The next time Keith is awoken was by the growling of his stomach and the dreadful pang of hunger. No more than two minutes later Lance came in with the now familiar tray of food. Keith leans his head back into the pillow and closes his eyes.

"Hey there handsome. I brought you lunch." Lance said in a smooth tone as he set the tray on the rolling table.

"I saw." Keith grumbled. Being sick for this long was taking a toll on his tolerance for people and the world in general.

"Alright you know the drill." Lance moved over to Keith's bedside.

Keith opened his eyes again and sat up, glaring at Lance. "Fi—" that's all that he was able to get out before he dissolved into a coughing fit.

When he was finished, Lance smiled softly and said, "Nah, I'm pretty sure that you'd win anyway." Then he proceeded to take Keith's vitals. "See? That wasn't too bad was it?"

Keith coughs feebly before growling a 'fight me' under his breadth. Lance chuckles. "I'll see you tonight. If your progress continues as it has been then you should be out of the hospital by late tomorrow."

~~~

Keith was just a few minutes away from being discharged now. He could taste his freedom, of course it tasted like the coffee from the downstairs gift shop. Lance had brought it to him as a departure gift. Of course it wasn't til later that he looked at the cardboard ring around the coffee cup to see that there was a cell number under the name 'fight me?' and it made him blush just a bit. 

Keith smiled as he walked out of the hospital doors, coffee cup still in hand though long empty of its contents. Maybe this could work.

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, well that's it for this fic but there is a chance that I may come back to this AU. I'm not sure at this moment but your reaction and input will most definitely help with that decision!
> 
> On a separate note, Pidge's condition is completely made up. I'm pretty sure that there is no possible way that that could ever happen in this day and age. I tried to stick with the facts but I started loosing steam towards the end and I felt like I rushed into getting Keith discharged.
> 
> Other than that I'd have to say that this fic was an over all success. ^_^ I hope to get more fanfics posted but kudos and comments are welcomed and encouraged! Love ya and see you next time Beeboos! ^w^


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